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The author is assuming that people not buying games because of let's play videos is a bad thing for the industry. He's right that it happens, but it's actually

The author is assuming that people not buying games because of let's play videos is a bad thing for the industry. He's right that it happens, but it's actually a good thing. If a game is so boring and forgettable that watching a Youtube video is an effective replacement, a player who purchases it will not be satisfied with the game. This directly harms the industry, because it disincentiveses people from purchasing more games in the future. Ideally, you want to match up games with people that want to play them. Crappy games should sell zero units, and people shouldn't feel burned having spent their hard earned cash. Let's play videos aren't perfect, but they're a damn better solution than text reviews or advertisements. Disclaimer: I'm an indie game developer that's just released the first alpha of my game [1], which has gotten most of its attention so far via let's play videos (made by myself, and others). So I'm biased in that direction, but I would have said the same thing a year ago when I was making Flash games. [1]: http://www.underthegarden.com http://www.underthegarden.com (shameless plug)

debacle 14y ago
Nice shameless plug. Can you give us the twitter summary of your game? The screenshots and site look cool and really remind me of Clonks, another game that I played a long time ago.
- reitzensteinm 14y ago
  Thanks! Hopefully not derailing the thread too much... (Fires up TweetDeck) You land on a deserted island. Survive the elements, build shelter and craft tools, explore the environment. Find your way home.
  - TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
    So... Minecraft with an end destination?
    - mryan 14y ago
      That was my first thought on reading the description, but the screenshots give a very different impression. It seems as though any game with crafting in it will bring on a Minecraft comparison. The homepage is worth checking out for the Annoying Cockroach Edition - good way of potentially turning some pirates in to customers.
    - reitzensteinm 14y ago
      You're right, that's description fail right there. I had a few characters left over, so how about: You land on a deserted island. Survive the elements, build shelter, craft tools, explore the environment. Find your way home. Not Minecraft.
      - debacle 14y ago
        It sounds like a Minecraft clone.
    - exDM69 14y ago
      > So... Minecraft with an end destination? Minecraft has an end destination: the End. It wasn't there since day one, but the "story" parts of Minecraft have been added gradually in game updates.
      - TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
        I know about that, I'm meaning Minecraft pre-End.
shahidhussain 14y ago
"If a game is so boring and forgettable that watching a Youtube video is an effective replacement, a player who purchases it will not be satisfied with the game." This I disagree with - the same goes for great games that are heavily story oriented (perhaps something like Alan Wake or Dreamfall). I'm not saying you get the full experience watching the YT video, but I think the OP's point is that you get enough value that the delta from actually playing the game isn't worth $50.
- nathanb 14y ago
  I think you just made his point for him. What makes games interesting as a storytelling medium is the degree of interactivity. If a game is heavily story-based but I can get all (or most) of the game's value just by watching a youtube video, is there really any benefit to it being a game, as opposed to a movie or TV miniseries or whatever? Why not just use the game's engine to tell your story and release it as a made-for-youtube movie? Maybe with some clever narration a la the best let's play creators? I have no idea how the margins would be compared to a game, but if your game is going to bomb because everyone gets all the value just by watching some guy record himself playing it, you might as well be that guy.
  - shahidhussain 14y ago
    I hear where you're coming from, but I think different people just like different things about games, and my bias is towards games that have strong stories. Take Mass Effect an an example - for me personally, the most interesting part of the game is making decisions and seeing how the story progresses as a result. I like to pew-pew the aliens as much as the next guy, but I'm most interested in seeing how character X reacts to action A. I'm not alone - the reason so many people were annoyed about the ending was that they wanted to find out what happens to the characters that they'd grown attached to over the last three games. Now you're right that they could absolutely release the story of Mass Effect as a (really really long) film, but I like to have choice in how the story progresses, and I don't want to watch lots of different movies with all the choices played out. Having that control makes me feel more engaged in the story than watching it passively. Not everyone will feel that's worth the price of entry for a game - I do.

debacle 14y ago

Nice shameless plug. Can you give us the twitter summary of your game? The screenshots and site look cool and really remind me of Clonks, another game that I played a long time ago.

reitzensteinm 14y ago
Thanks! Hopefully not derailing the thread too much... (Fires up TweetDeck) You land on a deserted island. Survive the elements, build shelter and craft tools, explore the environment. Find your way home.
- TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
  So... Minecraft with an end destination?
  - mryan 14y ago
    That was my first thought on reading the description, but the screenshots give a very different impression. It seems as though any game with crafting in it will bring on a Minecraft comparison. The homepage is worth checking out for the Annoying Cockroach Edition - good way of potentially turning some pirates in to customers.
  - reitzensteinm 14y ago
    You're right, that's description fail right there. I had a few characters left over, so how about: You land on a deserted island. Survive the elements, build shelter, craft tools, explore the environment. Find your way home. Not Minecraft.
    - debacle 14y ago
      It sounds like a Minecraft clone.
  - exDM69 14y ago
    > So... Minecraft with an end destination? Minecraft has an end destination: the End. It wasn't there since day one, but the "story" parts of Minecraft have been added gradually in game updates.
    - TazeTSchnitzel 14y ago
      I know about that, I'm meaning Minecraft pre-End.

shahidhussain 14y ago

"If a game is so boring and forgettable that watching a Youtube video is an effective replacement, a player who purchases it will not be satisfied with the game." This I disagree with - the same goes for great games that are heavily story oriented (perhaps something like Alan Wake or Dreamfall). I'm not saying you get the full experience watching the YT video, but I think the OP's point is that you get enough value that the delta from actually playing the game isn't worth $50.

nathanb 14y ago
I think you just made his point for him. What makes games interesting as a storytelling medium is the degree of interactivity. If a game is heavily story-based but I can get all (or most) of the game's value just by watching a youtube video, is there really any benefit to it being a game, as opposed to a movie or TV miniseries or whatever? Why not just use the game's engine to tell your story and release it as a made-for-youtube movie? Maybe with some clever narration a la the best let's play creators? I have no idea how the margins would be compared to a game, but if your game is going to bomb because everyone gets all the value just by watching some guy record himself playing it, you might as well be that guy.
- shahidhussain 14y ago
  I hear where you're coming from, but I think different people just like different things about games, and my bias is towards games that have strong stories. Take Mass Effect an an example - for me personally, the most interesting part of the game is making decisions and seeing how the story progresses as a result. I like to pew-pew the aliens as much as the next guy, but I'm most interested in seeing how character X reacts to action A. I'm not alone - the reason so many people were annoyed about the ending was that they wanted to find out what happens to the characters that they'd grown attached to over the last three games. Now you're right that they could absolutely release the story of Mass Effect as a (really really long) film, but I like to have choice in how the story progresses, and I don't want to watch lots of different movies with all the choices played out. Having that control makes me feel more engaged in the story than watching it passively. Not everyone will feel that's worth the price of entry for a game - I do.